Blasts from the past
Those turn-back-the-clock gimmicks are back in full force, and in some cases showing that the old uniforms still work and are probably better than the current ones. The New York Mets are the best examples of this as their 1986 pinstripes beat the socks of their black hats and generic jerseys of today. The old Phillies uniforms of the '70s and '80s also hold up well today, whereas the Hank Aaron-era Atlanta Braves jerseys look very dated (although I do have a hat from that era).

The weird thing is that given the success of nostalgic jerseys, especially sold by one of my favorite stores in Atlanta, you have to wonder if some of the not-so-distinctive jerseys out there today will be big collectors' items in about 15-20 years. Sometimes I have to wonder to myself why I actually care to get something like a mid-1980s White Sox cap or a 1970s Texas Rangers cap when I could've cared less before. I wonder if I'll be clamoring for mid-'90s Brewers cap (after the cool ball-and-glove logo) or the boring navy blue Padres cap in a few years.

Hef have a few more to spare?
I end up watching a lot of daytime TV inadvertently at work with a bank of screens tuned to a bunch of channels during the day. Maybe that's why I'm a bit disappointed a pair of Barker's Beauties will be leaving so soon. I was especially a fan of Heather Kozar (first one pictured in the article), the former Playmate of the Year who caused a bit of a stir between Tim Couch and Cade McNown a couple of years ago. Given the two QBs career paths, I guess Heather made the right choice in picking Tim. (Anyone realize McNown was in 49ers camp?)

What you don't see during commercials
When we're lucky, we'll get the raw feeds of games and get to hear the "real" banter between announcers. In the past, I've heard Bob Uecker sing to the whatever music was playing at the stadium, and now Skip Caray keeps screaming, "I'm a heart patient" after missing a couple of cues. I guess it beats "Who's going to die next?" when preparing for a promo about an upcoming NASCAR race.